Have you ever been in the middle of a song when your pick slips out of your hand? Here’s the solution! Full lesson here!
Hi there 
I’ve just started to explore this technique this week. I’ve got long fingernails, not that much long, but not short. I tried to strum like this to see if it worked with a bit of longer nail on index finger and I found myself to just brush the strings lightly, the sound is like when you strum with a thick pick and very “metallic”. I can get a consistent sound, index doesn’t get hooked in the strings and the pressure of thumb is minimum.
I thought if it works ok wow great! But I thought to ask before the overthinking might start…
…do you think maybe the longer nail is not ideal for this technique?
Anyone using this with a longer fingernail?
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Silvia, I think consistency of nail length is more important than actual nail length. If your nails are a different length every time you play, it will be very difficult to calibrate your strumming.
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I would agree with @jacksprat that consistency is important.
I do not play with a pick at all. I tried playing with nails, since I put time into classical guitar. I found maintaining nails and avoiding breaking nails a real pain. I also don’t want to go to the trouble of fake nails. Another maintenance nightmare, cost and health issue (damages real nails).
So I just cut them off and play with the flesh of my fingers. Except my thumb. I keep that a little longer so I can use it as flesh or nail. I can still strum with the flesh or the back of my nails, up with the back of the thumbnail if needed.
Technique is a little different, but once you are used to it is easy. The sound is nearly the same, just a hint rounder and warmer perhaps. Volume would be a potential issue if I performed, at least without an amp. It also might be harder in electric guitar with closer string spacing.
I might think differently if I had professional aspirations. But do not.
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Well thought reply Joshua. I kind of like strumming with my thumb/fingers. I like the variety of sounds one can make this way and the feel of my fingers on the strings. It’s certainly easier the first few times I try a song - I can focus on the chords and strumming patterns without thinking about getting clean pick strikes. But somehow it seems like “cheating” to not be using a pick. In the end, I want to play both ways reasonably well. Back to practice!
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I go back and forth between using a pick and not using one. I suppose it’s near 50-50.
Using fingers as a pick to me lends itself to a wider range of tones.
Use the nail side of my finger and it sounds like I’m using a pick, use the flesh and it’s more mellow.
Plus using only fingers lends itself more easy (for me) to use extra fingers for picking out separate notes.
What I’d like to do is hybrid picking. I’ve not gotten very good at this. My biggest problem for me with hybrid is where to stash the pick at while using fingers. I think I understand where to stash it, but it’s not become 2nd nature to me so I find it difficult.
As for nail length, I try to keep them short. If I can see the white end of the nail, it’s to long. On all fingers.
But that’s me.
Of course I have. 
I find that second nature…
That’s what lead me to use my fingers instead I suppose… 
imho, lots to be said for playing w/o a pick as there is nothing to drop and have that be the distraction mid song.
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Ha! I think playing with a pick is cheating! I just want to pick up a guitar and play, no accoutrements.
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We’ve had but one warm day here this year where the temp in my room went up to 75F (perspective!). My hands were sweaty and maintaining a proper grip on the pick became more challenging–whereas my fingers stay firmly attached to my hands, regardless of the sweat factor.
@judi I’ve been experimenting as well.
My nails are pretty short, and sort of flexible, and break frequently.
and like @Jamolay don’t want to be messing with nasty chemicals on my fingers. I like Joshua’s idea of a longer thumbnail, to have choice of sound, at least on the base line.
I don’t like the metallic sound myself of strumming with the back of my fingers either. Pinching thumb and forefinger together and strumming that way sounds better to my ears.
The way I’m playing, there is a HUGE difference in volume/sound, between flesh, nail, and different picks. In my very minimal experience with different types/weights of strings, there is also a significant impact of string choice on sound.
I’m way too much of a beginner to offer any sage advice, but I do find my way around the strings more accurately strumming with my fingers than with a pick.
When I get good enough at finger picking (maybe in a year+ (or more)?) I’m thinking of investing time and $$ in finger/thumb picks and see if I like that sound.
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My concern with finger and thumb picks is that I would think you learn to rely on them. They change where and how your finger is positioned as it hits the string. Would this make transitioning to bare fingers again difficult, like learning to play without nails the first time.
I also still like the simplicity of just fingers. Nothing to need except the guitar (and a tuner🤦🏼♂️). No fiddly extra bits to attach every time I want to play.
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I learned fingerstyle using thumb and finger picks (my teacher really pushed it). After a while I put them aside and playing with just fingers was a lot easier, no troubles adapting. Now I play with nails, but recently in a moment of distraction, I cut my nails too short and, though it did feel a little weird to play with the fleshy parts, it certainly didn’t pose any real problem.
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“Sorry, I cannot play your guitar right now, I don’t have my finger picks…”
I hadn’t thought this through to this point…
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Thanks everybody for sharing your experience.
This seems something to consider. I already shorten my fingernails quite frequently as I don’t like them too long for my Classical Guitar either.
I will see if it’s possible to keep my fingernails and both pick my nylon strings and strum my steel strings.
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Looks like I agree very much with @Jamolay on this one.
This exactly what I do. I do also play with a pick.
Since getting my Kingpin with 12s on it, I think the main difference is the stiffness of the strings. It eases the strumming with fingers quite a bit for me. Light strings (like 8s) are very easy to over-power. These tree trunks on this archtop can take it and even sound a bit better maybe.
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I agree. I like the feel of thicker strings, but my experiment with 13s was too far. I like 12s on my steel string, but then I use lower tension (Curt Mangan Monel round core) strings, have a short scale (24.5”) and often run down half a step. So it is like I am playing 11s, just thicker.
Regular 12s on a long scale steel string is too much for my liking and I have a hard time getting a good tone with flesh fingers.
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Kingpin has 24.84inch (631mm) scale. For only 3 weeks having it, I find it is consistently picking hard enough that I need to work on. I also buzz notes that I normally don’t, but that is fretting position and pressure.
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